Chair.



0. R. HASIY L H. A. Atvvoon.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14| |918.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918,

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0. R. HASTY & H. A. ATWOOD.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED 1uNE 14. 191s.

1,278,643, Patented sept. 10,1918.

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OTIS It. HASTY, OF ELGIN',` ILLINOIS, lAND HARRY A. ATWOOD, 0F MILWAUKEE, WIS- CONSIN, ASSIGNORS T0 MILWAUKEE CHAIR COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCON- SIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

CHAIR.

Application filed June 14, 1918.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that we, Oris R. I-IAsTY and HARRY A. A'rwooD, citizens of the United States, residing at Elgin, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, and Milwaukee, j

in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention concerns various features of novelty and of structural and functional advantage -in chairs, more especially, but not exclusively, in chairs of the typewriter style, having hinged, adjustable, spring-controlled, backs. One object of the invention is the production of a chair of this general type in which the staff or bar carrying the back-rest or back proper is demountably assembled with its support and is held thereto by the adjusting means controlling the tension of the spring.

A further feature of the invention is the vprovision of a chair of such construction that it may be shipped with the back and its staff detached from the remainder of the chair structure for economy in shipping space, the fastening means to secure these separate parts/together being of such construction as to preclude their improper assembly and to assure their ready association with ease and despatch. The elimination or avoidance of any slots in the wooden back staff avoids splitting of the latter, which weakness is likely to develop in chairs of the mode of manufacture prior to the production of this improved style. The new chair uses an expansionas contrasted with a compression spring for the back, and such spring isdisposed practically horizontally beneath and close to the chair-seat behind its screw -threaded supporting shaft and hence is out of sight and in a position for most favorable performance of its yielding or cushioning functions. Furthermore, the construction and combination of parts is such that there is no tendency for the catching or pinching of articles of clothing, such as a skirt, for example, and the chair is not rendered unusable if the'spring happens to break.

Simplicity in structure, eectiveness in action, ease of assembly, and certainty of correct association of parts, hidden disposition or location of the spring, avoidance of- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 1o, 191s.

Serial No. 239,937.

slots in the back staff, economy in manufacture, and several other desirable objects are attainedin the embodiment of this invention.

In order that the advantages of the formation and organization of the parts of the improved chair or the Inode or way in which its elements are put together, as well as their operative capabilities, may be readily understood and appreciated we have illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, a simple desirable embodiment of the invention, and throughout the various views of these drawings like reference characters refer to the same parts.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the chair;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2 2 of Flg. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 with the Y parts viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and y Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to these drawings it will be observed that the new and improved chair comprises a standard composed of a base 10 with a plurality of feet 11, 11, in association with a central, upright, threaded shaft 12, adjustable as to height by any approved means. At its upper end this shaft has a seat-supporting spider including forwardlyprojecting, radiating or diverging arms 13, 13, and a pair of approximately-parallel rearwardly-extended arms 14 and 15, all of `which are secured by screws to the underside of the chair-seat 16, arms 14 and 15 back of the central shaft having an integral cross-bar 17. At their rear ends these two substantially-parallel, spaced spider-arms 14 and 15 have downwardly and rearwardly extended ears or lugs 18 and 19, between which a rocker-arm 20 is fulcrumed or hinged by means of two screws 21, 21, (Fig. 5) threaded into opposite sidesof the arm and having bearings in cylindrical holes in the ears.- This' rocker-arm comprises two side-walls 22 and 23 connected together by a bottom-web 24 and a front-web 25 apertured at 26. The wooden staff orpost 27 for the back-rest 28 is apertured at 29 in alinement with the hole 26, the lower end of such staff being accommodated in the socket or recess formed by the rocker-arm walls 'with itsl front face bearing against the rear surface of web 25. This staff is held in the socket by means of a clip fastened by means of screws 31 to its front face and having a right-angle lip 32 fitted over the top edge of wall 25 and bearing against the upper portionl of its front face, and the staii' is also maintained secured to such rockerarm by means of a threaded rod 33 extended through the registering apertures 26 and 29 and provided at the back of the staff with a washer 34 and an adjusting 'or tension-controlling nut-handle 35, its front end beneath the chair-seat being in the form of a loop, eyeor hook, engaging the rear end Aof acoil expansion spring 36 whose other end hooks over cross-bar 17.

v It will be appreciated, therefore, that the spring is behind fthe upright, threaded, seat- -supporting shaft 12,- is disposed horizontally directly vbeneath 'and close to the seat, is practically invisible, and directly connects the seat-supporting spider with-the backrest staff. The tension of such spr-ing may be easily and quickly varied by manipulation of the handle which directly connects with` the anchored spring through the threaded rod with which it coperates.` Thus, the strength of this spring cushion or spring pressure, which normally tends to swing the back-rest staff forwardly against the back of the chairs occupant, may be readily governed and controlled. J

-The appliance is also provided with stops to limit or restrict the forward and back swinging of the staff and its back-rest. The bottom edge of each ear-18 and 19 is recessed or cutaway at 40 Vto supply front and rear shoulders 41 and 42 with which .oppositely-extended ylugs 43 on the rockerarm co-act. These coperating members limitthe forward swing of the stail under the action of the spring and also restrict its rearward rocking under the action of the occupant bearing and pressing against the back-rest carried by the staff. In case the spring should break, these shoulders still perform their function and the chair need not be necessarily discarded until the spring is replaced by another. l

Should it be 'desired to demount or remove the stati and back-rest for shipment or other purposes, it is merely necessary to' unscrew andremove the nut-handle 35 and lwithdraw the threaded rod 33, whereupon the stafl'l can at once be lifted free from the rocker-arm socket, the clip 30 in no way hindering such'removal, but rather readily 'sliding oif of the rocker-arm wall with which I it is associated. Under normal circumstances,

the strain put upon the upright stati' is'imvposed thereon both through this clip and also through the nut-handle, thus distrib- Y without departurel from. the heart 'and esyspider,a seat mounted Aon said spider, a `hinged back, a spring cnnneeted at' one end uting the strain and eliminating its concentration which might, under some circumstances, tend yto split the staff.

In order to avoid sl'otting this wooden stati' to permit vertical adjustment of the back-rest 28 which it carries, a metal slotted strap is secured in an upright manner to the back-rest by screws 71, 71, suchl strap oi bar having narrow side flanges 72,72, overlapping the opposite edges of the staff to prevent angular displacement of the rest. A bolt 73 has a squared shank 74 fitted and adjustable in the vertical slot 75 of the strap or bar, the threaded part of the bolt extending rearwardly through a hole 76 in the staff, back of which it is provided with a tightening nut or handle 77. By this means slotting and weakeningof the staff itself is avoided'without losing the advantagev of the vertical adjustment of the rest and holding it in .proper horizontal position.

To those sk'lled in thisart it will be clear that many minor' mechanical changes 'may be made in the structure presented sence of the invention and without the sacrifce of any of its substantial benefits and advantages. v Y

lWe claim: Y l

1. A' chair having anadjustable back com- 95 prising in combination astandard, a seat mounted thereon, a back 'hinged' on said standard, a coil expansion spring connected at one end to said standard, and screwthreaded means to adjust the tension'of said spring extended through said hinged back and including a demountable kthreaded handle the turning of which' varies the spring tension and constituting the Vsole device preventing detachment of the 'back' fromrthe remainderof the structure, substantially as described. l j

2.Ac`hair'having an adjustableba'ckcomvprising a standard having a seat-supporting to said spider, means engaging the other end of saidsprmg and Vhavingy a 'screwthreaded 'shank extended rearwardly through av hole in the back, and a 1threaded handle 115 engaging said 'threaded shank" and adapted to adjust the tension of said spring' and demountably khold said ba'ck in place', substanmuy asaeseriba 3. A chair having an-adjustableback comprising in combination, a standardor base having 4a 'seat-supporting' spiderjwith' two rearwardly-extending arms cnnected togetherby a cross-bar;v a seat on said spider, av pair of spaced 'ears at the rear endsof 125 said arms, a rocker-arm hinged to and be! tween said ears, ay back-stan" positioned between spacedwalls of ysaidl rocker-arm, a: clip secured to said staff overlapping thewfront of said 'rocker-arm, said ears'v and rocker- 130 arm having cooperating means limiting the rocking of said arm, a spring beneath the chair-seat close to and substantially parallel to its under face and having its front end connected to said spider cross-bar, a threaded rod extended through alined apertures in said rocker-arm and back-staff and engaging the rear end of said spring, and a thread ed handle coperating With said rod back of said staff, whereby said handle adjusts the tension of said spring and constitutes the sole means preventing demounting said staff from said rocker-arm, substantially as described.

4. A chair having a hinged back comprising in combination7 a chair-standard having a seat-support, a seat mounted on said v support7 a rocker-arm hinged to saidA seatconnected at one end to said seat-support, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring and also assisting in securing such sta to said rocker-arm, substantially as described.

5. A chair having a hinged back comprising in combination, a chair-standard having a central shaft equipped at its top With a seat-support, a seat mounted on the support, a rocker-arm hinged on said support, a chair-back sta mounted on said rockerarm, a substantially-horizontal spring disposed beneath said seat rearwardly of said vshaft and having one end connected to said seat-support, means connecting said spring to said rocker-arm and staf, and means to adjust the tension of said spring, substantially as described.

OTIS R. HASTY. H. A. ATWOOD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

